Big Green Egg Jerk Chicken

Happy New Year to you all. I hope your holiday break was a good one! Fresh back from our annual trip to Negril Jamaica, I am still reminiscing about the bold and intense flavors of their Jerk style of cooking. As a result, I wanted to recreate the flavors of Jamaica while the taste was still in my head. After a bit of research I cooked this recipe for Jerk Chicken as my first post in 2016. This recipe was modified for the Big Green Egg from one of my favorite food sites Tasting Table. Now sit back, grab an ice cold Red Stripe, and enjoy this recipe for Big Green Egg Jerk Chicken.

Big Green Egg Jerk Chicken

Big Green Egg Jerk Chicken

First…a little background on Jerk seasoning and the grilling method. This style of outdoor cooking came about in Jamaica after a group of escaped British slaves (the Maroons) found themselves living in the Blue Mountains. Trying to keep the meat (wild boar) safe, they used spices to help preserve the meat longer. To avoid detection they would bury the meat underground with charcoal and slowly cook the meat thus preventing the smoke from escaping and disclosing their location. There are several variations on the Jerk Marinade (both wet and dry) but everyone agrees there are 5 primary ingredients that need to be included for this to be a true Jerk experience: Allspice berries, Thyme, Scotch bonnet peppers, Green onions, and fresh Ginger. As long as you have these 5 ingredients you are off to a good start. For this recipe I chose to use Chicken legs.

Mise en place

Chicken Legs

Ground Allspice berries and Black peppercorns

Once the Allspice berries and Black peppercorns were ground I mixed them together with the remaining ingredients in a food processor until smooth.

Mix the Jerk Marinade

I placed the Chicken legs in a bowl and covered them with the wet Jerk marinade. I placed the legs, uncovered, on a wire rack and in the refrigerator for 48 hours.

Rub the chicken legs

As I prepped the Big Green Egg for the cook, I soaked Allspice berries and Bay leaves in water. Traditional Jerk is made using Pimento wood but that is hard to get in the United States. Allspice berries come from the same tree and can be used to create smoke similar to that of Pimento wood. In addition, I added some Bay leaves to the lighted coals with the Allspice berries to get that Jerk smoke flavor during my cook. For this cook I used half the Allspice berries and Bay leaves for the indirect portion.

Allspice Berries and Bay Leaves

Creating the smoke

I used a Conveggerator for indirect cooking and placed a drip pan full of water underneath the chicken. I cooked the Chicken for an hour at 250° until they measured 155°.

Smoke the chicken

I removed the Conveggerator and and added the remaining Allspice berries and bay leaves to the coals. Then turned the chicken skin side down and cooked for another 5 minutes over the direct heat.

Sear the chicken

I must say this turned out much better than I had expected. Having just been in Jamaica I can judge the flavor of this Jerk chicken against the real thing… and it was spot on! I served the chicken with traditional Jamaican “Rice & Peas” and a Red Stripe beer. Ya Mon… respect!

Set a wire rack inside a rimmed baking sheet and put on kitchen gloves. Place the chicken into a large bowl and cover the marinade all over the chicken using your hands, then transfer the chicken to the wire rack. Refrigerate the chicken, uncovered, for 24 hours or more.

When ready to cook, remove the chicken from the refrigerator, wiping off any excess marinade. Transfer to a plate and let sit at room temperature for 1 hour before cooking.